Ok, I’m hardly objective, but the 3rd edition of Dorkbot Second Life, was again a great success!

There were 3 artists presenting, who all work in Real and Second Life, but compliant with the Dorkbot SL motto: “People doing strange things with Second Life”, this session was about their SL work.

The session started with Miulew Takahe (Björn Eriksson in RL) and Bingo Onomatopoeia presenting the Avatar Orchestra Metaverse (AOM). Miulew explained the ideas and mechanisms behind AOM, illustrated with pictures and sounds. Bingo then demonstrated the instruments, and emphasized the role of visualization in the work. The lag during his presentation made clear just what one of the major challenges of an avatar orchestra is, and though unwanted, I consider it as an essential part of the presentation.

For the second part of the session the mic was handed to Adam Ramona (Adam Nash). He gave a short intro on his work, after which everybody teleported to his latest installation A Rose Heard At Dusk. People seemed a bit hesitating to go, because everybody was having a lot of questions for Adam, and eager to hear about his ideas. But once assured there was plenty of room for questions during the demo, we all went. This installation is definitely one that would be hard and very expensive to create in Real Life.

The experience was intoxicating and some people stayed in for over an hour, and it actually ended up in a party with everybody dancing, chatting, showing of particle systems and smokers corner 😉

Below the images is a chat transcript of the session. Miulew recorded the sound of Adams installation and it can be heard at his podcast. (people unfamiliar with second life, please notice this is a live recording and therefor includes your typical avator noise like typing and flying against the ceiling).
For more info (artist biographies, links etc.) please check out the dorkbot session announcement.

chat transcript 1st part (intro + AOM)
Maximillian Nakamura: Hello everybody my name is Maximillian Nakamura and I am the founder dorkbot SL. I would like to introduce first Evo Szuyuan, who is now organizing the dorkbot sessions with me.
Maximillian Nakamura: we are just a few but lets begin.
Maximillian Nakamura: Dorkbot refers to a group of affiliated organizations worldwide that hold meetings of artists, engineers, and designers working in the medium of electronic art. Started by Douglas Repetto in New York (2000).
Maximillian Nakamura: The motto of the first life dorkbot sessions are:
Maximillian Nakamura: People doing strange thing with electricity.
Maximillian Nakamura: It seems that in SL we need to get a little bit other perspective so our motto is:
Maximillian Nakamura: People doing strange thing with SL.
Maximillian Nakamura: 🙂
Maximillian Nakamura: We are writing a blog about our activities here: https://rhizomatic.wordpress.com/
Maximillian Nakamura: OKAY
Maximillian Nakamura: Now I would like to hand over to Evo who is introducing the speakers of this session.
Maximillian Nakamura: welcome again everybody
You: k
You: First Bingo Onomatopoeia and Miulew Takahe will present The Avatar Orchestra Metaverse (AOM),
You: an international new-music collective based in Second Life.
You: Then Adam Ramona will present his latest work
You: A Rose heard At Dusk
You: an interactive participatory audiovisual sculpture for Second Life.
You: First Miulew will explain some of the ideas behind AOM.
You: After his presentation he can take a couple of questions.
You: After that we’ll pass the word to Bingo, who will demonstrate some of the instruments.
Maximillian Nakamura: yep dorkbot is always interactive 🙂
You: we will have a about 5 minutes for a Q&A about AOM, or any questions you would like to ask Bingo or Miulew,
You: Before we move on to Adam Ramona.
You: Adam will first give an introduction to his latest work, A Rose Heard At Dusk
You: Then we will all visit the installation, and get the full experience!
Maximillian Nakamura: you find all infos at our blog also: https://rhizomatic.wordpress.com/
You: During the demo you are free to ask any questions you might have.
You: 😉
You: So I would now like to introduce Miulew Takahe. Also known as Björn Eriksson
You: Miulew is an improvising musician and has worked as electronic engineer and sound engineer
You: He also lectures in sound and radio production.
You: for AOM he writes music, conducts and leads rehearsals within Second Life.
You: Miulew! you go!
Miulew Takahe: 😉
Miulew Takahe: Thank you Evo, and Dorkbot for having AOM here
Miulew Takahe: was very last minute, but it’s a real pleaseure
Miulew Takahe: Avatar Orchestra Metaverse – or AOM as i now will call it – is a new orchstra
Miulew Takahe: only existed since february
Miulew Takahe: actually i got involved in AOM
Miulew Takahe: after the first dorkbot meeting here in SL
Miulew Takahe: then maximillina introduced me to the work of a piece called FADHEIT
Miulew Takahe: he had made a soundHUD for this piece and was looking for players for the piece
Miulew Takahe: so he had started the AOM
Miulew Takahe: and it was continually expanding
Miulew Takahe: you have to correct me on this, if i am wrong maximillian
Maximillian Nakamura: nope 🙂
Miulew Takahe: we can show slide no2
Miulew Takahe: ok… here we see the soundHUD for the FADHEIT piece
Miulew Takahe: the idea to start an avatar orchestra was getting to maximillian partly by his playing with the RL orchestra Laptoporchestra Berlin
Miulew Takahe: http://www.myspace.com/laptoporchesterberlin
Miulew Takahe: the sounds from this piece should be heard now if you press play
Bingo Onomatopoeia: ahaha, I hear VM13 🙂
Miulew Takahe: we ump in 3 minutes into the piece
Bingo Onomatopoeia: now…
Maximillian Nakamura: now it is the right one
Maximillian Nakamura: please all press play on ur music player
Miulew Takahe: we where about 5 or 6 players on this piece
Miulew Takahe: and the piece is constructed of different violin sounds
Maximillian Nakamura: it was a solopiece before and then we played it with laptoporchestra 🙂
Maximillian Nakamura: then with avatar orchestra!
Miulew Takahe: you can show slide no1
Miulew Takahe: this is us performing FADHEIT
Miulew Takahe: as you see – it is hard to see if we play some instruments
Miulew Takahe: so this was the next step we wanted to explore
Miulew Takahe: to have instruments that also where visible to an audience
Miulew Takahe: so . with the help of HarS Hefferman (i think you are here)
Miulew Takahe: we continued with the Vickys Mosquitos project
Miulew Takahe: Hars (or Harols Schellinx in RL) hav run this project for at least two years now
Miulew Takahe: and to this date 14 different performances has been done in the Vickys Mosquitos
Miulew Takahe: we was planning the 13th as a virtual SL one
Miulew Takahe: for this we wanted to only use inWorld sounds
Miulew Takahe: sounds we had found here in SL
Miulew Takahe: and also we wanted to have instruments that were showing some activity
Miulew Takahe: slide no3 please
Miulew Takahe: so for this bingo invented the aviophone
Miulew Takahe: the missile like thing you see beside the avatars
Miulew Takahe: http://www.harsmedia.com/VickysMosquitos/
Bingo Onomatopoeia: dont call it MISSILE!!!
Miulew Takahe: the url is for further reading on the VM project
Bingo Onomatopoeia: LIPSTICK!! or even DILDO!!!!
Bingo Onomatopoeia: LOL!
Miulew Takahe: the sounds we used sounded a bit like this
Miulew Takahe: there were sounds from casinos, water, winds, birds etc.
Miulew Takahe: clicks
Miulew Takahe: type sounds
Miulew Takahe: the vicky mosquitos always starts with a vicky voice
Miulew Takahe: so we had to do that also ere in SL
Miulew Takahe: so this is the vicky voice reading the vickys mosquitos story
Maximillian Nakamura: press play on ur music player please
Miulew Takahe: i jump in a little further
Miulew Takahe: the piece was also made in collaboration with HarS and his duo ookoi
Miulew Takahe: that were physically at De Waag festival in Amsterdam
Miulew Takahe: and so AOM was screened on the walls there
Miulew Takahe: doing performances
Miulew Takahe: http://www.harsmedia.com/SoundBlog/Archief/00605.php#00605a
Miulew Takahe: in the blog post you can read further on this
Maximillian Nakamura: press play on ur music player please
Miulew Takahe: actually we have started to really like to do mixed reality shows
Miulew Takahe: so if we can have a place where there are real audience listening and hearing us – we appreciate it
Miulew Takahe: ok – – only inworld sounds were used
Miulew Takahe: next slide please no4
Miulew Takahe: the next invention which bingo came up – he will soon show some of this too
Miulew Takahe: was the Sinus HUDs for the piece Rue Blanche
Miulew Takahe: this is a piece that explores the natural sine tone series + found sounds
Miulew Takahe: these sounds were used
Miulew Takahe: an iothers
Miulew Takahe: well i hope you get the idea
Miulew Takahe: slide 5 please
Maximillian Nakamura: yep
Miulew Takahe: this is how these huds looks from avatar perspective
Miulew Takahe: the Rue Blanche is a conducted piece
Miulew Takahe: where the avatars play different sounds and listen to each other
Miulew Takahe: it is very much like playing with an orchestra but in a new environment
Miulew Takahe: we have to carefully consider different positions to audience etcetera
Miulew Takahe: the rue blanche sounded a bit like this
Miulew Takahe: nearly all of our pieces can be listened to from diff. blogs and podcasts – you find them all at http://avatarorchestra.blogspot.com/
Miulew Takahe: also we have some videos up there
Maximillian Nakamura: there is also http://myspace.com/avatarorchestra
Miulew Takahe: next slide please
Miulew Takahe: this is bingos onomatophone – which he soon will show
Miulew Takahe: next slide 07
Miulew Takahe: it was made for the piece Wee.Nee.Kresh that has a special crashy history
Miulew Takahe: i wont go into that now
Miulew Takahe: these two pieces were premiered on 12th may on virtual Haidplatz
Miulew Takahe: next slide
Miulew Takahe: 08
Miulew Takahe: the virtaul Haidplatz is a mockup of the real square in Regensburg, south germany – with the same name
Miulew Takahe: the media artist group Pomodoro Bolzano builded this in parallel with RL happenings in may in Regensburg
Miulew Takahe: http://www.pbspace.de/
Miulew Takahe: and during the 12th may performance also we had some live screening ion Sweden at Eskilstuna university
Miulew Takahe: next slide09
Miulew Takahe: ok.. jump to 10 direct i think
Miulew Takahe: that is the real square in Regensburg
Miulew Takahe: in late june we will be doing some more meshed and mixed reality performances from v.Haidplatz
Miulew Takahe: it will be the preparal meetings for the Pages Exhibition in London in fall
Miulew Takahe: more info oon this later
Miulew Takahe: ok.. i am finished here
Miulew Takahe: thank you! 😉
Maximillian Nakamura: great! thank you miulew!
Miulew Takahe: the last slide is from Eskilstuna!
You: does anyone have a querstion for miulew at this point
Miulew Takahe: it is me to the most right
Juria Yoshikawa: good looking fella
Maximillian Nakamura: 🙂
Miulew Takahe: thank you juria! 😉
Maximillian Nakamura: any questions?
You: if there are no questions let’s give the word to bingo
Miulew Takahe: i forgot to mntion that we are about 15 avatars playing in the orchestra
Fluxe Fitzgerald: isn’t it difficult to make music with latency?
Bingo Onomatopoeia: ok, there’s not much left for me to tell 🙂
Juria Yoshikawa: why an orchetr
Miulew Takahe: yes, very
Juria Yoshikawa: orchestra?
Juria Yoshikawa: why not solo?
Miulew Takahe: but we take that as a creative challenge
Fluxe Fitzgerald: is there a drive to improve the realism?
Miulew Takahe: it is nearly always much more fun to collaborate, than doing solos, juria! 😉
Miulew Takahe: no special drive for that, fluxe
Maximillian Nakamura: Fluxe Fitzgerald asked: is there a drive to improve the realism?
Miulew Takahe: maybe the opposite
Hardwarehacker Hoch: the sound was streamd RL or live from SL, sorry dump question yout 2 get it clear
Miulew Takahe: to use the specialties of SL
Miulew Takahe: mabe bingo has some sayings on this..
Miulew Takahe: the sounds here – was streamed
Bingo Onomatopoeia: I think it is best to demonstrate…
Miulew Takahe: but at performance we play from inside SL – no streamed sounds
Hardwarehacker Hoch: nor now, in the performance
Miulew Takahe: at performance only inWorld sounds
Fluxe Fitzgerald: i can imagine performing in a group where the latency was substantial but predictable. is this a legitimate goal?
Bingo Onomatopoeia: no playback-shows 🙂
Miulew Takahe: except the voice of Vicky! 😉
Maximillian Nakamura: so these sounds are coming from bingo
Bingo Onomatopoeia: arrrgh, lagging hard…
Bingo Onomatopoeia: the pint is: you get stereo-sound from SL
Bingo Onomatopoeia: and when the orchestra mixes with the audience…
Sugar Seville: if anyone is wearing a mystitool or other scripted gadget, it would help to turn it off
Bingo Onomatopoeia: …everybody gets a different mix
Bingo Onomatopoeia: and there are no “bad seats” anymore
Hardwarehacker Hoch: lag could be a artistic way
Bingo Onomatopoeia: the “microphoe in SL is attached to the camera
Maximillian Nakamura: intermezzo info: http://avatarorchestra.blogspot.com/
Bingo Onomatopoeia: so we dont have real influence on what a single listener hears
Yvette Tzara: they had a discussion about lag in the electric cool aid acid test
Bingo Onomatopoeia: we accepted that and made it a part of the permonce
Yvette Tzara: and that everything we do is a delay
Yvette Tzara: in that it is a reaction
Yvette Tzara: and that the key
Bingo Onomatopoeia: ok, but how to make people belive they re not listening to a stream?
Yvette Tzara: was to anticipate
Yvette Tzara: at the same time
Bingo Onomatopoeia: we had to visualize
Yvette Tzara: and eliminate lag
Hardwarehacker Hoch: and when ther is voice in sl we have maybee realy strane delay sounds 😉
Bingo Onomatopoeia: first: a flying instrument, the aviophone
Bingo Onomatopoeia: following the player
Bingo Onomatopoeia: played by mouse-clicks
Bingo Onomatopoeia: but Maximilian’s HUD-concept was far better to play
Bingo Onomatopoeia: so I added visualisation as an attachment
Bingo Onomatopoeia: it responds to what i am doing on my HUD , which is invisible to you
Bingo Onomatopoeia: maybe, you dont hear the sounds yet, sorry, lag 🙂
Miulew Takahe: receives sinus tones now, bingo! ;))
Maximillian Nakamura: a HUD is a Head up Device
Bingo Onomatopoeia: ok, I think it is a playable instrument
Bingo Onomatopoeia: and has some show-elements to it, hehe
Maximillian Nakamura: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-up_display
Bingo Onomatopoeia: ok, I’m told to keep it short
Bingo Onomatopoeia: one more instrument…
Bingo Onomatopoeia: very laggy 🙂
Bingo Onomatopoeia: It has six spheres, filled with samples/loop
Miulew Takahe: this is the Onomatophone!
Bingo Onomatopoeia: I can control the samples that are played
Bingo Onomatopoeia: and theitr movement
Bingo Onomatopoeia: sorry, it hardly responds to my clicks, hehehehe
Bingo Onomatopoeia: so, no stream involved, really!
Sugar Seville: great sounds Bingo!
Bingo Onomatopoeia: we have prepared our presentations in parrallel 🙂
Yvette Tzara: very cool
Bingo Onomatopoeia: miulew said 90% i had prepared – read it on our blog 🙂
Miulew Takahe: 😉
Maximillian Nakamura: THANKS VERY MUCH BINGO AND MIU!
singuart Ballinger: good jungle sound
xsinguart: good jungle sound
Eifachfilm Vacirca: very cool
Maximillian Nakamura: and everybody feel free to IM both for questions
Eifachfilm Vacirca: yeah
Maximillian Nakamura: WE NOW SLIDE OVER TO ADAM RAMONA
spinster Voom: if anyone wants to know about the late june stuff: http://spinstersblog.blogspot.com
Maximillian Nakamura: usaually the session go one hours
Maximillian Nakamura: but today is a exception 🙂
Buffy Beale: When’s the orchestra performing?
Miulew Takahe: we have next performance with AOM on the 28th june
Miulew Takahe: and then another at the 30th june
Buffy Beale: Thanks, and you each have equivalent of sheet music?
Miulew Takahe: buffy – -we improvise some too…
Miulew Takahe: or better put it – -we must play intuitively
Bingo Onomatopoeia: buffy, we have sheets but not in a concentional sense
Buffy Beale: So that’s the beauty that each piece is different but the same sorta
Miulew Takahe: listen to each other – consider lag -etcetera
Bingo Onomatopoeia: *conventional/usual
Bingo Onomatopoeia: the structure of a song is given
Bingo Onomatopoeia: but then we have several factors influencing it
Miulew Takahe: buffy: look here http://spinstersblog.blogspot.com/
Bingo Onomatopoeia: direktor/lag/how many we are etc…
Miulew Takahe: also at http://avatarorchestra.blogspot.com/

chat transcript 2nd part (Adam Ramona – A Rose Heard At Dusk)
Adam Ramona: Ok, I’ll keep it short 🙂
Adam Ramona: Can everybody hear me? I don’t want to use the microphone 🙂
You: lol
Miulew Takahe: hear you ok! 😉
spinster Voom: yes
Adam Ramona: Hehe. Ok, so…
Adam Ramona: I have been working in realtime 3D for about 10 years now.
Adam Ramona: I see it as an audiovisual medium.
Adam Ramona: By this I mean it is both sonic and visual at the same time,
Adam Ramona: neither more important than the other,
Adam Ramona: which is a little different from RL, perhaps.
Adam Ramona: The words I use on my website to describe the work are
Adam Ramona: primarily for those not familiar with the medium of realtime 3D,
Adam Ramona: but everybody here is familiar with it,
Adam Ramona: so perhaps its best if we all just go experience the piece,
Maximillian Nakamura: OKAY
Sugar Seville: can we have a link to your website Adam?
Miulew Takahe: before we go – can we ask some questions?
Maximillian Nakamura: yea
You: yamanakanash.net
Sugar Seville: I made a teleporter for Adams piece, its to the left of the stage
Adam Ramona: Sure, ask away, but we can talk while in the piece.
Miulew Takahe: great — i want to ask some about the immersive sound garden, if it is ok?
Adam Ramona: go ahead
Maximillian Nakamura: http://yamanakanash.net/
Miulew Takahe: then second – -are this place – yours alone – or do you invite sound artist to make installations there?
Adam Ramona: them’s not questions 🙂
You: the immersive sound garden is called ramonia
Adam Ramona: no, all the work is mine, but I and a colleague are currently
Adam Ramona: building a gallery, wehre we will invite residencies, etc.
Miulew Takahe: ok, thanks
Adam Ramona: ok, if there’s no more questions, let’s all TP to the work.
Bingo Onomatopoeia: adam, are u musician in RL?
Adam Ramona: Yes, I am a musician and sound artist in RL, and SL. Is there any difference really ? 🙂
Maximillian Nakamura: I made a landmark giver of the immersive garden
Sugar Seville: RL is just a video game right?
Adam Ramona: Feel free to TP to the work now
Maximillian Nakamura: anybody whos is interested can click on the red ball and get a landmark
Miulew Takahe: LOL
Adam Ramona: It is designed for a few avatars, so it will be intersting to see how it rsponds to a larger group.
Gazira Babeli: great
Adam Ramona: Teleporter’s just here.
Adam Ramona: I don’t bite 🙂
You: should i go first 😉
Adam Ramona: Yes please Evo.

Maximillian Nakamura: hello everybody
You: let’s go in
Maximillian Nakamura: so this is the entrance
Miulew Takahe: /ahhh so great! ;;))
Eifachfilm Vacirca: awsome
Hars Hefferman: woopie!
Maximillian Nakamura: evrybody up?
Maximillian Nakamura: Entrance is here
You: adam…
You: do we all hear the same thing?
Adam Ramona: Please press “Stop” on your music player.
You: or is it different where i’m at?
Adam Ramona: Everybody will hear a different kind of sound based on their position within the piece
Joskie Despres: This is a really nice concept.
Adam Ramona: Flying in mouselook is quite good.
Adam Ramona: Move around to experience it.
Miulew Takahe: /we should record this! ;))
Hars Hefferman: yeah, do, Miulew ..
Miulew Takahe: /i love the voices – and the morse signals
Adam Ramona: feel free Miulew
Adam Ramona: move around to experience the piece
Joskie Despres: Is it possible to set so that the camera position moves through, rather than the av
Adam Ramona: yes, press M for “mouselook”
Adam Ramona: then use mouse to look around and W and S to move
Adam Ramona: Time to open the champagne 🙂
Sabina Stenvaag: adam–i jsut LOVE yer stuff
Adam Ramona: Thanks Sabina!
You: so adam? what do you think with this amount of people in it?
Adam Ramona: It sounds quite busy, but I’m impressed that SL handles it no probs.
spinster Voom: yeah, no lag here at all!
spinster Voom: fantastic
Sabina Stenvaag: ditto–no problems here
xsinguart: the sound have the air mecanic
Adam Ramona: that’s right singuart
Miulew Takahe: adam – the voices sounds awesome – -what are these?
Adam Ramona: Voices are mainly sourced from shortwave radio and military intercepts.
Miulew Takahe: ahh great – -that was what i thought
Adam Ramona: This piece was commisioned by Telstra for their SL opening back in February.
Bingo Onomatopoeia: how many loops/samples are in this installation, adam?
Adam Ramona: Working on some interesting new stuff, would be great to be able to present it at some point in the future.
Adam Ramona: Bingo, there are about 36 in this piece.
Sugar Seville: it’s a really beutiful piece
Adam Ramona: I have a collaboration on my island that uses 256 samples.
Adam Ramona: Thanks Sugar!
Bingo Onomatopoeia: yay, thats a number…
wolfgeng Hienrichs: is it recorded or do you sequence the sound
Bingo Onomatopoeia: how do you prepare 256?
Bingo Onomatopoeia: I mean to check if they fit together?
Bingo Onomatopoeia: a sampler?
Adam Ramona: The greatest sampler of them all – the human brain 🙂
You: haha
Bingo Onomatopoeia: hahaha 🙂
Adam Ramona: But SL is impressive in its ability to handle this.
Bingo Onomatopoeia: yes adam, i was afraid to the last minute that my instrument woud never work
Bingo Onomatopoeia: but 256 is more than I expected
Bingo Onomatopoeia: I’m happy atm about 6 loops at once
Bingo Onomatopoeia: ant the sync is ok
You: how long will the piece stay at ponderosa adam?
Maximillian Nakamura: and if you have any question IM me please 🙂 or the others
Maximillian Nakamura: 🙂
Adam Ramona: NOt sure, Evo, probably not much longer, but
Adam Ramona: I have a copy at my place too.
Maximillian Nakamura: okay I just last infos: https://rhizomatic.wordpress.com/
Maximillian Nakamura: THANKS ALL FOR COMING AND STAY HERE AND PLAY AROUND!
Maximillian Nakamura: THANKS YOU ADAM FOR SHOWING US UR WORK
Maximillian Nakamura: AND VERY IMPORTANT! THANKS TO SUGAR AND ODYSSEY!
Maximillian Nakamura: 🙂
Miulew Takahe: check http://www.odysseykunst.com/
Maximillian Nakamura: there is also a dorkbot group in SL
Maximillian Nakamura: please join if you want